Man charged in schemes

February 27, 2014

ELKINS - A Valley Bend contractor has been charged with allegedly defrauding area residents out of more than $30,000.

David William Tackett, 36, was arrested Tuesday on one count of fraudulent schemes, a felony, after West Virginia State Police officials received four complaints between Oct. 15 and Jan. 13.

Three individuals and a married couple all claimed they paid Tackett money to do some contracting work on their residences, according to the criminal complaint. The residents all said none of the work they hired Tackett for was done and that attempts to contact Tackett to ask for their money back were unsuccessful, the complaint reads.

Senior Trooper S.E. Hevener, the investigating officer, interviewed Tackett on Jan. 29 regarding the individuals' concerns. According to Hevener, Tackett said he was unable to do the first job due to winter weather, and when spring came, "he cut off two of his fingers" putting him off the job for some time. Tackett said he'd gotten behind on his jobs and had "robbed Peter to pay Paul" and it had caught up to him, the criminal complaint states.

Tackett claimed that all of the contracts he had written for the jobs were valid, Hevener said. However, Tackett said his contractor's license has expired and that it will cost about $500 to renew it. According to the complaint, Tackett said "his ultimate goal is to get his residence refinanced and to pay these individuals back."

The total amount of money the individuals paid Tackett was $33,835, police said.

Tackett was arraigned by Randolph County Magistrate George M. Riggleman and is free on a $10,000 personal recognizance bond.